“When it is time to sow, sow and when it is time to harvest, you will harvest. Obey this rule.” 

― Israelmore Ayivor, Become a Better You

Few know the grind better than an indie podcaster. Am I right?

We wear many hats… 

Booker, host, audio engineer, editor, promoter, copywriter, and VA. I’m sure there are more, but those quickly come to mind.

Alexandra Cohl of POD.DRALAND expressed the indie podcaster experience perfectly in this tweet.

See the tweet at http://podcastgym.com/the-many-hats-of-indie-podcasters

BREATHE

It’s time to see the forest from the trees. Even cowboys need to rest.

Take a pause from the grind and take inventory of what you’ve created in the past 12 months.

• What have you accomplished?
• How did your podcast evolve?
• Any wins worth celebrating?

Even though my Inspired Money podcast is 4 years old, innovation continues. I tweaked the show format, added new theme music, and improved episode art. 

In the podcaster’s war of attrition, simply continuing to publish makes you triumphant. I’m willing to bet that you had victories too.

What did you do?

SEEDS

I feel like my downloads have held steady but have less of an upward slope than the early days. Of course, there’s a global pandemic to account for. The work at home did not help my downloads.

It’s difficult to compare stats because every show and its audience are different. What do your downloads tell you?

Here’s my thinking. All the changes and improvements of 2021 have been sowing the seeds for a bountiful harvest in 2022.

That said, the work does not stop there. When the seeds begin to sprout, more work is about to begin! Bring it on.

HACKS

In the past, I mentioned ideas for promoting your podcast that included sending out press releases, swapping promos with other podcasters, and doing outreach to podcast publications/newsletters.

Here are some additional experiments that I’m doing.

• Automated messages 
• I have an automated message that drips out to my LinkedIn contacts that asks for podcast feedback. On a platform that frowns on a hard sell, asking for podcast feedback is a way to say “Hi, did you know I have a podcast?” It’s already sparking engagement and conversation.  
• Twitter Spaces
• I was recently a speaker on a friend’s Twitter Spaces. (It’s Twitter’s competitor to Clubhouse. Kudos to those of you killing it on Clubhouse. I am not!) The appearance gained me new followers and my friend pitched my podcast. Hope it gets me a few new listeners. It’s worth further exploration.
• YouTube
• I’ve been sowing seeds here in a big way by producing video for my podcast. Video is daunting. Editing is very time-consuming, files are big, and I have to wear a proper shirt! It’s been slow growth, but I’m optimistic for positive momentum in the new year.

What growth hacks do you have to share? How can we grow our podcasts significantly in the next 12 months?

Sow the seeds. Harvest the crop. And then repeat!

P.S. Keep all your hats organized!